Electrically operated time instructing device



Jan. 30, 1962 J. J. PETITTO, SR 3,013,569

ELECTRICALLY OPERATED TIME INSTRUCTING DEVICE Filed Nov. 14, 1958 INVENTOR JOHN J. PE 7'! TTO, 51?.

BY Y

ATTORNEYS 3,018,569 ELECTRICALLY OPERATED TIME INSTRUCTING DEVICE John J. Petitto, Sr., 203 Hedge St., Clarksburg, W. Va. Filed Nov. 14, 1958, Ser. No. 773,904 1 Claim. (Cl. 3539) This invention relates to education and more particularly to an electrically operated time instructing device which may be utilized for conveniently instructing pupils in the art of telling time.

Heretofore, numerous types of time instructing devices have been proposed and utilized but these were commonly operated by the instructor and consequently did not enlist the attention of the pupils in the same manner as if the r ted States Patent device had been operated by the pupils and furthermore these prior devices were set at predetermined times which were to be read by the pupils Whereas a more effective and interesting method of instruction would be possible if the hands of the instructing device stopped at unpredictable locations.

It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide an electrically operated time instructing device which may be conveniently mounted in any desired location and which may be utilized to instruct pupils in the art of telling time.

A further object of the invention is the provision of an electrically operated time instructing device in which the operation of the device may be cont-rolled by a pupil from a remote location.

A still further object of the invention is the Provision of an electrically operated time instructing device in which the hands of a clock are driven by an electric motor, the operation of the motor being controlled by a push button switch and in which upon release of the switch due to the coasting of the mechanism, the hands of the clock will stop at unpredictable locations.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an electrically operated time instructing device in which the power for operating the same is obtained from batteries thereby providing a completely portable device which may be conveniently moved from place to place.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of an electrically operated time instructing device constructed in accordance with this invention; and

FIG. 2 a side elevational view of the device shown in FIG. 1.

With continued reference to the drawing, there is shown an electrically operated time instructing device constructed in accordance with this invention and which may well comprise a base of any suitable material and which may be utilized to mount the device on a wall orother suitable supporting structure and mounted on the base 10 is a generally circular housing 11 which may be formed of metal, plastic or any other suitable material, the front of the housing 11 being provided with a bezel 12 which serves to retain a transparent crystal 13 of suitable material such as glass or plastic.

A clock dial 14 is mounted within the casing 11 rearwardly of the crystal 13 and the dial 14 is provided with numbers 15 thereon to indicate the hours of the day. Hour and minute hands 16 and 17, respectively, are

3,018,569 Patented Jan. 30, 1962 mounted for rotation relative to the dial 14 and a gear train 18 is provided for driving the hands 16 and 17 at a relatively rapid rate and in proper speed relationship.

A shaft 19 is coupled to the gear train 18 through a pinion gear 20 or any other suitable means and the shaft 19 projects outwardly from the casing 11 and may be provided on its outer end with a gear 21 which meshes with a pinion gear 22 mounted on the drive shaft of an electric motor 23. The motor 23 may be mounted on the base 10 exteriorally of the casing 11 or if desired, the motor 23 as well as the shaft 19 may be completely contained within the casing 11.

A source of power for the motor 23 may be provided in the form of a container 24 within which are disposed suitable batteries, these batteries being connected through a push button switch 25 mounted on the casing 24 and a flexible conducting cable 26 leading to the motor 23. The cable 26 may be of any desired length in order to permit the container 24 to be moved about a room to control operation of the motor 23 from any desired remote location. While the casing 24 is shown and described as being utilized to contain batteries, it will be understood that this isfor illustrative purposes only and that the batteries may be contained within the casing 11 or another source of power such as the electrical power in the building in which the device is utilized may be connected to the motor 23 and the push button switch 25 would in this case be a relatively small device to be moved about and utilized by the pupils for actuating the instructing device.

In the operation of the above described invention, it is only necessary to position the device in a location visible to the pupils being instructed and to pass the container 24 around among the pupils whereby upon operation of the switch 25, the motor 23 will be energized to operate the hands 16 and 17 and upon release of the switch 25 due to the coasting of the mechanism comprising the gear train 18, shaft 19 and the armature of motor 23 resulting from the inertia thereof, the hands 16 and 17 will come to rest at unpredictable locations. Consequently, a pupil cannot deliberately stop the device at a location in which the time is already known and this factor also introduces an element of entertainment into the instructing process.

The device of this invention may be economically constructed from readily available lightweight materials and since the power required for operating the same is relatively small, the motor 23 may also be small and the batteries for providing the power for such motor will have relatively long life and also be relatively light in weight.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof and therefore the invention is not limited by that which is shown in the drawing and described in the specification, but only as indicated in the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

An electrically operated time instructing device comprising a plate forming a base, a circular casing mounted on one end portion of said base, a clock dial mounted on said casing and having spaced peripheral indicia defining hours 1-12 thereon, hour and minute hands mounted in said casing for rotation relative to said dial, gearing connected to said hands for driving said hands at a relatively rapid rate and in proper hour-minute speed relationship, a vertical drive shaft coupled to said gearing a and projecting radially from said casing in alignment with the designation for the hour 6, an electric motor mounted on said base and including a motor shaft extending in offset parallel relation to said drive shaft, 21 speed reducing driving connection between said motor shaft and said drive shaft, a source of power for said motor comprising a portable case containing batteries, :1 pushbutton switch on said portable case, a flexible con ductor cable connecting said batteries and said motor through said switch whereby upon closing of said switch said bands will be operated by said motor and upon release of said switch due to coasting of said motor and said gearing said hands will stop at unpredictable locations.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

